Seven dead after van plunges off parkway into New York zoo

Bronx Zoo crash: Seven dead after van plunges off parkway

A van plunged from a New York elevated highway into the Bronx Zoo, killing seven passengers Sunday, police said.

The van tore through a barrier meant to keep vehicles on the road and fell more than 50 feet into a mostly vacant area of the zoo, killing those aboard instantly, a New York Police Department spokesman told AFP.

“Looks like seven people dead: four adults, three children,” the spokesman said. “Basically the van went over a railing on the highway and dropped to an area below.”

The accident happened in a part of the zoo shared with a rail yard and there were no other people — or animals — nearby, the spokesman said.